Do you know someone who peaked in high school and makes it painfully — like, PAINFULLY — obvious?
Apparently, most people do. ... So much so that Reddit user u/realHDNA asked in r/AskReddit: "What screams 'this person peaked in high school' to you?"
Well, here's what people said the ✨dead giveaways✨ are:
1. "A girl I went to high school with has posted pictures on Facebook MULTIPLE TIMES of herself trying on her old cheerleading uniform to show that it still fits. We're in our late-30s/early-40s."
2. "I used to work with a guy who was very muscular, very masculine, and made sure everyone was aware of those things about him. One day, I was sitting next to him in the break room, and he started to tell me, unprompted as always, about how he went to attend an award ceremony for his son who won something regarding his football performance. I said, 'Well, that was nice of you to go and support him!' and he responded, 'Nice? It was sad, man. That used to be me. Now, I'm the old guy in the room who has to watch someone else win something I should have had.' All I could think was what a loser. ... He couldn't just be proud of his son?!"
3. "Anyone who has a 'Salt Life' decal on their car when they live nowhere near the ocean."
4. "When under 'College/University' in their Facebook profile, it says, 'School of Hard Knocks.'"
5. "I had a conversation in a bar with a drinking buddy years ago where he kept going on about 'the one that got away.' He said how perfect she was and how great their chemistry was, how he hasn't felt that way about any girl since, yadda yadda. He was feeling pretty sorry for himself and uninterested in meeting anyone else because they could never compare. When I asked how long ago it was that she moved away, he said 'eighth grade.' LMFAO!"
6. "My ex-stepmother constantly bragged about being a cheerleader in high school and winning a beauty walk (in a town of, like, 500 people). She was still bragging about these the last time I saw her, and she was in her mid-40s."
7. "When they say, 'It doesn't get better once you grow up.'"
"I told a substitute teacher at my school that people told me this all the time, and she said the only people who say that are the ones who peaked in high school. I miss her every day."
8. "They're the ones who want to organize high school reunions every five years."
9. "Anyone who asks you to join an MLM scheme!"
10. "One guy I knew literally got our school emblem and mascot and a huge 'CLASS OF 2010' tattooed on his shoulder."
11. "Cheer moms. I think being on the squad in high school is fine because it’s an extracurricular, but the whole cliquey cheer mom thing screams high school to me — I’m glad my daughter isn’t interested."
12. "When people regularly repost the same picture of their one notable moment they had in high school."
13. "Anyone who bullies other adults as if they were still in high school."
14. "They keep insisting for the next 30 years that they would have taken state if coach would have put them in the game."
15. "If they tattooed their last name across their shoulders."
16. "Constantly posting 'throwbacks' and their senior pictures. That and sharing Facebook memories consistently, or putting Snapchat memories of high school on their story."
17. "Talking about your IQ and Advanced Placement classes when you, umm...did nothing afterwards. Like, you're 48 and you're still talking about being in Honors English? That was a minute ago, friend."
18. "In my experience, it's always the people who talk about things that happened in high school as if it was yesterday. I had an ex who would always tell me these wild stories, and when I'd ask when they happened, she'd say, 'Sophomore year of high school.' We were mid-20s. Over time, it became clear that high school were the best years of her life."
And lastly:
19. "Whenever anyone asks whether or not YOU were popular in high school, THEY clearly peaked in high school."
Answers have been edited for length and/or clarity.